Spill Cleared By Regional Workers

Quick action by municipal staff contained and cleaned a diesel spill in Liverpool Friday night.

A Region of Queens crew was working on upgrades to water and sewer lines on Jubilee Road next to the Royal Bank when an Irving truck, refilling construction vehicles at the job site malfunctioned, causing approximately 260 litres of diesel fuel to be dumped on the ground.

Liverpool Fire Department was called at 7:00pm and contained the spill.

Region of Queens Mayor David Dagley says municipal workers used the equipment on site to remove the contaminated gravel almost immediately.

“It was transported to our landfill site, as we normally do with oil materials and it will be tested by Irving and it will be dealt with, as necessary, according to environmental standards.”

Dagley says the spill was unable to spread because of the construction zone in which it took place.

“It’s right in the middle of a street that had been under construction. It’s all compacted, class-A gravel, very absorbent, no run-off. It’s two or three feet lower than the sidewalks around it. It’s all contained in the area where the actual spill occurred.”

Staff from the Nova Scotia Department of Environment were on site Monday and confirmed the site was properly cleaned up.

Mayor Dagley says he doesn’t believe construction on the underground infrastructure will be impacted by the spill.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson